Inman woman charged with arson

Wednesday

Mar 27, 2013 at 9:43 PM

A woman was charged with arson after the Boiling Springs Fire Department responded to a suspicious fire on Venus Street Tuesday.

From staff reports

A woman was charged with arson after the Boiling Springs Fire Department responded to a suspicious fire on Venus Street Tuesday.Dorothy Elaine Smith, 45, of 181 Venus St., Inman, was charged with third-degree arson, according to online jail records.An incident report states that deputies and firefighters arrived to find that a wall and mattress had been burned in the house. A deputy noted a lighter and the spout of a gas can on the kitchen table, the report states.Smith told the deputy that she had gone to the house about 7 p.m. to get something. She was not living in the house at the time due to a prior incident during which someone poured gasoline inside the house and written vulgar graffiti on the wall, according to the report.Smith said she touched the carpet to see if it was still wet with gasoline and she felt static electricity. She ran to a neigbbor's house and saw a person in the master bedroom where the fire had been, according to the report. She called 911 after seeing smoke coming out of the window, the report states.Smith was later arrested. She was released from the Spartanburg County Detention Facility Wednesday on a $20,000 bond.

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